A Lesson From Memory
by AnimeGamer
Summary: Sakura fails her midterms, so she decides to use the cards to help her study. However, using magic irresponsibly can lead to things you will never want to happen...such as losing a loved one. (Short Story)


A/N: It's been a long time since I wrote anything Card Captor Sakura. Maybe I'll get back to   
finishing my incomplete CardCaptors II series. Anyway, I hope for those who read this to enjoy   
it as I enjoyed actually writing this.   
  
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Magic.  
  
Magic is a double-edged sword, meant to do both good and evil. It cannot do one   
without the other. I learned this the hard way…in a way I wished to never use magic again.  
  
Blood. Puddle. Syaoran.  
  
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The Lesson from Memory  
By AnimeGamer  
A Short-Fic  
  
"Memories have distinct tastes. Its favorites are the sickly sweetness of lost love and the bitter   
smokiness of cruel murder." – Flavor text for "Famished Ghoul"; Magic the Gathering.  
  
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That day just started like any other day. Just a normal day in my first year of high   
school.   
"Sakura!" A young, dark brown-haired man yelled from down the hall behind her. All   
she simply did was turn around as he caught up to her. "Do you need help with studying again? I   
heard you failed your midterms."  
"Eh? I didn't fail my midterms!" Sakura lied, looking outside to avert from his gaze.   
Quickly covering her lie, she turned herself to looking outside the window toward the cherry   
blossoms outside the school.  
"You know you can't squeeze a lie out on me." Syaoran stated, leaning against the   
open windowpane. "I've known you since we were kids, and I can tell you are lying." Syaoran   
continued, turning and leaning his head toward her, as a breeze went though the window.   
Unknown to them, those who saw the two suddenly found them very cute together, though the   
two didn't mind nor care for the attention.  
"Syaoran…we've been together ever since you got back from Hong Kong…" Sakura   
began.  
"Yeah, but your going to fail midterms if you don't study. Unlike years ago, you have to   
study or you'll be in risk of getting held back." Syaoran pointed out the obvious.  
"I know…" Sakura replied as she sighed. Suddenly, she felt two arms embrace her from   
behind.  
"I'll come by tonight and I'll help you study, alright?" Syaoran almost demanded to   
Sakura as he held her in his arms. "Tell your otou-san1 that I'll be coming tonight to help you   
out, so he wont be surprised."   
"Demo—"  
"Li-Kohai!2 We got practice, so you better get going or your going to be late!" A   
random senior yelled as he ran by.   
"Hai! I'm coming right now!" Syaoran yelled back, as he let go of her. Sakura turned   
around to try to get him to stay to plead her case, but to no avail.  
"Syaoran, I--"  
"Sakura…I know it's sudden again, but I really want to help you. I don't want you to   
risk getting pulled back." Syaoran said as he kissed her in the forehead. This made Sakura blush   
to no end, along with sending everyone around them into a fury of blushes and hushes.   
"Syaoran…" Sakura whined as she held the sleeve of his sweater.  
"Ja." Syaoran simply said as he ran off, Sakura not being able to hold on as her hand   
was left in the air toward his direction. She then simply placed her hand to her heart and   
smiled. She then looked outside, and suddenly nodded to herself as she began to run off home.  
  
"Did you just see that right now?"3 One female student asked silently.  
"Yeah, they were addressing each other by first name!" Another stated.  
"They're more then dating if you ask me. The way he just kissed her in front of   
everyone makes it obvious!" A third student threw in.  
"At least it's *them*, if it were anyone else I'd vomit." The first female student   
replied.  
  
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Syaoran silently approached the same house Sakura has lived in since their childhood   
years. Lucky for him, her older brother moved out when he suddenly got accepted into Tokyo   
University. Since then, there hasn't been much news from him even though he calls in every so   
often. As Syaoran was about to knock on the door…  
  
"Syao-chan!"4 Sakura smiled as she put her arms around him as the door opened   
suddenly.  
"Sakura…" Syaoran sighed.  
"I know…but I can't help but call you that when not around anyone else…" Sakura   
continued as she let go of him, grabbing him by the hand and almost dragging him into the   
house.  
"Sakura-chan?" A voice asked, making Sakura's hair stand on end. Out from behind her   
was her father, Fujitaka. Almost instantly Sakura almost slammed the door on Syaoran's face.   
"Who was that just now?" He asked.  
"Umm…no one! No one at all!" She yelled, a message to tell Syaoran to find cover   
somewhere.  
"Sakura…let him in. Its alright." He simply overruled her as he opened the door,   
despite Sakura being in the way. "You can come in, Syaoran-kun."   
"You didn't tell your otou-san again, didn't you." Syaoran assumed, as he checked his   
face to make sure the door flattened anything.  
"Hai…" Sakura said sadly, as she slugged herself toward her room.  
"Well, I need to go to a conference tonight, so I wont be coming home tonight. So   
Syaoran-kun, take care of Sakura-chan for me and make yourself at home." Fujitaka stated as   
he nodded his head toward him. Of course, this surprised the two entirely as they weren't   
expecting to be home alone that night.  
"Hai!! I'll do my best!" Syaoran replied, as he bowed repeatedly as her father closed   
the door and left. "Who would've thought we'd be alone tonight." Syaoran sighed.  
'We're home alone…OH MY GOD!!!'5 Sakura suddenly began to worry. 'We're home,   
alone, just us two. We also been intimate for a long time, and if he pulls *that* out, what am I   
going to do?!?!' Sakura thought as she started to go into worry mode, as was on the verge of   
fainted.  
"Sakura?" Syaoran suddenly said questionly, as he placed his hand on her forehead.   
Almost instantly, she fainted into his arms. "Oh Sakura…"   
  
As her eyes blinked open, she wasn't in her room. Or rather, it was her room. She   
couldn't tell until she saw the clow book sitting on the table. As she got up from her bed, she   
looked around until she noticed a body on the floor. Suddenly, her life as she knew it ended.  
There, in the middle of a puddle of blood, was the dead corpse of her only love.  
Dead.  
Almost instantly she wanted to faint but for some reason couldn't. She fell to her knees   
as she began to cry.   
"Kami-sama6…why…? WHY?!?" Sakura yelled out, as she took his body and pressed him   
against herself. Suddenly, she looked at her blood soaked hand in horror. "How…how did this   
happen?"  
Clow.  
"Nani?" Sakura wondered, as she looked around. Suddenly the fury of the memory   
flooded her mind.  
  
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"Syaoran, why do I have to study…I know! I can use sleep, create, and loop to help me   
study." Sakura suddenly said, opening the drawer and opening the Clow Book.  
"Sakura, what are you doing? You're not using the clow cards to—"  
"Yep. Besides, im tired…I don't think I can keep studying if we keep going like this…"   
Sakura sighed; as she pulled Sleep, Create and Loop out of the stack of cards and put them   
back in the clow book.  
"Sakura, this isn't a good idea. The cards weren't meant to—"  
"I know…but I want to try it at least this once." Sakura said, as she laid down in bed,   
pulling the covers on herself.  
"Sakura, this isn't a good idea at all. I have a bad feeling about this." Syaoran warned   
yet again.  
"I know, but it's better to know then to not know at all." Sakura replied as she looked   
at him and smiled. "Sleep! Send me to sleep for the rest of the night! Create! Create a dream   
for me to help me pass my midterms! Loop! Let the time from now until morning be repeated   
twice!" Sakura commanded as she held the three cards in her hands, as they lay on her chest.   
The three cards appeared and did as they commanded.   
"Oh Sakura…" Syaoran sighed as he sat at the desk. "You could've at least let me go to   
sleep first so I don't get caught in the Loop."   
  
Hours went by, as Sakura slept on the second loop, she suddenly woke. Syaoran   
instantly woke as well when she woke from where he was sitting on her chair. He quickly   
noticed her eyes were giving him a blank stare.  
"Sword. Shield." Sakura commanded in a dark tone, the two cards appearing as her   
wand became a sword, and shield wrapped around Sakura like body armor.  
"Sakura? Snap out of it! Sakura!" Syaoran began in worry.  
"Die." She suddenly said, as she swung toward Syaoran, narrowly missing him. She   
swung again only to be parried by his own sword and shoulder-charged into the ground. Just as   
he was about to attempt to hold her down to the floor…  
"Time."  
Suddenly, time stopped as Sakura recovered and stabbed him right though the chest.   
Right when that happened, time resumed as he stood, shocked by the sword that went though   
him as he fell to his knees.   
"Sakura…" Was all he could mutter before Sakura violently pulled her sword out of him   
and he fell forward onto the ground in a bloody puddle. As if it were actually Sakura seeing him   
now, she then fell back into sleep onto the bed.  
  
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"Iie…iie…iie iie iie…you were right…" Sakura sobbed, as she suddenly looked toward the   
book. "Erase…" Sakura called, as the card appeared before her in its visual form.  
"Sakura. Do you understand?" Erase suddenly said.  
"Eh…?" Sakura suddenly questioned, her eyes still teary.  
"You are our mistress, so we know every thought and reasoning for you to use the   
cards. Earlier after Syaoran left, you thought about using the cards to help you study. Our duty   
is to your command, but magic is something to not use so trivially. All of us thought that   
Kerberos has taught you that."  
"So this…?"  
"An illusion. We asked Syaoran himself to use illusion on you as you fainted earlier to   
do this to you. He understood what lesson this would teach you and was understanding."  
"Im so glad…" Sakura nodded, as she stood up. "…that this is just a illusion."  
"If you went ahead with what you had in mind, it wouldn't have been a illusion at all."   
Erase stated as began to disappear.  
"Illusion is tired in deceiving you now…all the cards are sorry for what we have done,   
and are willing to accept any punishment…"  
  
As her eyes readjusted themselves as she got up, Syaoran was sitting on her side as he   
put his arms around her.  
"Gomen, I only did what the cards asked because I heard what they said about earlier."   
Syaoran said as he lowered his head.  
"Baka." Sakura said as she lightly knocked him on the head and smiled. "Arigatou, for   
doing it. I just wish I didn't have to study…" Sakura sighed as she left his embrace and took the   
clow book and hugged it to her chest.  
"Oh cards…gomen nasai, for being so selfish. I'm not mad at any of you at all…" Sakura   
said to the cards as she held the book tightly. She then felt the warmth of Syaoran's embrace   
again.   
"Im sure they are all happy, just like I am right now." Syaoran smiled. "Oh yeah, I   
forgot…" Syaoran suddenly let go and pulled out his wallet.   
"Huh?" Sakura suddenly looked at his wallet. He began to pull out a small package, the   
right size for a certain something.  
"Hoeeeeeeeeeee" Sakura suddenly blushed and fainted.  
"Eh?" Syaoran suddenly wondered at the fainted girl, as he opened the package and   
pulled out a wipe and began to clean his hands. 'I wonder why she fainted again…? All I did was   
just pull out this wipe to clean my hands since they were a little sweaty.'  
Syaoran shook his head, and smiled upon the sleeping angel in front of him.  
"Silly."   
He lightly kissed her on the lips and lied next to her on the bed and put his arms around   
her as they went into a quiet slumber.  
  
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Suddenly, the two instantly woke up as they looked at her alarm clock.  
"Oh no…" They both said looking at each other. "Hooeeeeeeeeeeee!!!" Sakura yelled   
as she went into full panic mode. Syaoran sighed as he simply stated, "you fainted so much you   
didn't get to study."  
"HOEEEEEEEEEEEEE" Sakura ran around in full panic, her arms flapping as she quickly   
grabbed clothes and ran into the shower.  
"At least its Sunday…all I have today is a soccer match. Poor Sakura…she's gonna be in   
risk of being held-back." Syaoran said as he shook his head.  
  
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A/N: Well…I have some notes to take care of…  
  
1.Otou-san – Simply, it means father.  
2.–Kohai – Much like Sempai, except that it is used by seniors or elders to address younger   
members.   
3.This part reflects at least old Japanese traditions. Simply, a couple cannot intimately   
call each other by only first name in front of everyone. Kissing in front of others is   
considered risqué. That's why the other students are talking trash about the two.  
4.Syao-chan – Syaoran doesn't like the fact he is called "Syao-chan" simply for the fact it   
is tagged with "-chan". It makes him feel as if he was still a kid in Sakura's eyes though   
really she says it to she Syaoran as a really close friend. (It's what my ex used to call   
me too, for those who care.)  
5.Sakura frets out since she begins to think…well, you figure it out. *nudge nudge, wink   
wink.*  
6.Kami-sama – Simply, it means god.   
  
I really hoped you enjoyed reading this story. I used what I saw in animes such as Kareshi   
Kanojyo no Jiyo (His or Her Circumstances), Marmalade Boy, and even Initial D for   
reference in concept for this story. The main idea came from an episode I recently saw in   
Fruits Basket (DVD#3), where Tohru frets about failing her midterms and worries she might   
get held back. Anyway, please review so I can know what you guys think of this. I might   
convince myself to write more CCS fanfiction again if this goes well. Oh yeah, if anyone   
know how to put up italics on FFN, that'd be great so I don't have to use *asterisks* to   
place emphasize on words.  
  
That's about it. Oh yeah, for more reference for those interested, check out this place:  
  
  
I used some of the notes there to help write this story, and is a great help to those writing   
anime fanfiction.   
  
One last thing, I have a message board at:   
So if anyone wants to drop by, you're more then welcome to. 


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